Article handling system

ABSTRACT

In an article handling system having article handling means for carrying a stack of articles comprising a pair of lift arms, a rigid pivot rod pivotally joining said lift arms together, a lift cable and an opening cable operatively arranged such that: the lift arms are arranged to swing inwardly toward each other to engage and carry the stack of articles upon application of an external lifting force to the lift cable, and the opening cable is constructed to have a lifting force applied thereto to swing the lift arms apart so that they clear the stack of articles, improvement in the article handling means comprising each lift arm pivotally connected to the pivot rod at opposite ends thereof, the lift cable joined to the pivot rod at opposite ends thereof, the opening cable joined to the lift arms and disposed at a substantially right angle in respect to the lift cable, one end of the opening cable relatively permanently connected to one lift arm and the other end thereof manually connectable or disconnectable in respect to the other lift arm, two shackles mutually interlocked and arranged so that one has the external lifting force applied thereto and lifts the other, the lift cable extending through one of the shackles, the opening cable extending through the other of the shackles, whereby when the opening cable is disconnected the lift cable is made taut to lift the article handling means to carry the stack of articles, and whereby when the opening cable is connected it is made taut to lift the empty article handling means to swing and spread the lift arms apart.

United States Patent [191 Hall [ Jan. 29, 1974 1 1 ARTICLE HANDLINGSYSTEM {76] Inventor: Glen Henry Hall, Box 284, Fort Ashby, W. Va. 2671922 Filed: July 19,1971

21 Appl. No.: 165,859

[52] US. Cl 294/67 BC, 294/67 R, 294/112 [51] Int. Cl. B66c 1/32 [58]Field of Search... 294/67 BC, 63 R, 67 R, 113,

294/106, 67 B, 81 R, 81 SF, 111, 112, 119; 224/48 [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 2,610,890 9/1952 Jaeger 294/67 BC 1,781,94311/1930 Bartholomew 294/63 R 435,839 9/1890 Hunter 294/112 X PrimaryExaminerEvon C. Blunk Assistant ExaminerJohnny D. Cherry Attorney,Agent, or Firm--William L. Fisher operatively arranged such that: thelift arms are arranged to swing inwardly toward each othcr to engage andcarry the stack of articles upon application of an external liftingforce to the lift cable, and the opening cable is constructed to have alifting force applied thereto to swing the lift arms apart so that theyclear the stack of articles, improvement in the article handling meanscomprising each lift arm pivotally connected to the pivot rod atopposite ends thereof, the lift cable joined to the pivot rod atopposite ends thereof, the opening cable joined to the lift arms anddisposed at a substantially right angle in respect to the lift cable,one end of the opening cable relatively permanently connected to onelift arm and the other end thereof manually connectable ordis-connectable in respect to the other lift arm, two shackles mutuallyinterlocked and arranged so that one has the external lifting forceapplied thereto and lifts the other, the lift cable extending throughone of the shackles, the opening cable extending through the other ofthe shackles, whereby when the opening cable is disconnected the liftcable is made taut to lift the article handling means to carry the stackof articles, and whereby when the opening cable is connected it is madetaut to lift the empty article handling means to swing and spread thelift arms apart.

2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAHZQ 914 3.788394 GLEN HENRY HALLlNVENTOR BY mma 1 HIS ATTORNEY ARTICLE HANDLING SYSTEM My inventionrelates to article handling, particularly for the construction industry.

The principal object of my invention is to provide an article handlingsystem, particularly for the construction industry, which saves labor inhandling articles particularly metal form pans used as forms in pouringconcrete walls and the like.

The foregoing object of my invention and the advantages thereof willbecome apparent during the course of the following description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which FIGS. 1-3 are,respectively, front and side elevational and top plan views of anarticle handling system embodying my invention; and FIGS. 4 and 5 arefront elevational views of said system shown in use.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, 8 generally designates saidembodiment of an article handling system which comprises a pair of liftarms 10 pivotally connected together at their upper ends by alongitudinally extending rod 12. Each lift arm 10 has spaced apart frontand back angle plate members 9 and 11 joined fast and disposed at anobtuse included angle in respect to each other and axially extendingangle plate cross bars 14 and 15 welded, respectively, to said members 9and 11 at the junction thereof and to the lower ends of the members 11.Said cross bars 15 form a pair of axially extending inwardly projectinghorizontal holding shelves 16 which support the bottom of a stackofmetal form pans P. Each lift arm 10 is provided with flat plate braces13 and 17 joining, respectively, the members 9 and 11 and the members 11and 14 at the corners thereof. A closed rigid loop member 18 is madefast to each crossbar 14 at the center thereof to one of which loopmembers 18 is connected one end of a spring 20 and to the other of whichis connected one end of an opening cable 22, the other end of which hasa hook 24 carried thereon. The other end of the spring 20 is connectedto the free end of the opening cable 22 which holds the hook 24. Saidembodiment 8 also includes a lift cable 26 connected via eyes onopposite ends thereofto a pair of shackles 28 which are pivotallycarried on the rod 12 at opposite ends thereof. In the instance, theupper ends of the front and back members 9 of one of the pair of liftarms 10 are differently constructed than the upper ends of the front andback members 9 of the other lift arm 10 so that the pair of lift arms 10have the same width axially or front to back of said embodiment 8. Saidupper ends of one pair are cut shorter than the other and are providedwith flat plates 23 which are welded to the inside vertical webs of saidshortened upper ends of said one pair. The plates 23 bear against thevertical webs of said upper ends of the other pair and both said plates23 and said last-mentioned vertical webs are provided with alignedapertures through which said rod 12 extends. Each shackle 28 straddlesone of the plates 23 and the respective last-mentioned vertical web ofsaid other pair. To insure that the rod 12 does not move out of suchapertures said rod 12 is pinned, as at 21, at two places at each endthereof on opposite sides of the respective shackle 28. Said upper endsof the other pair have their horizontal webs cut-away to accommodatepivotal movement of the shackles 28 on said rod 12. A shackle 19 throughwhich said opening cable 22 threads is carried on the pin for a shackle27 through which said lift cable 26 threads. An external lifting forceis applied to said lift cable 26 via said shackle 27. Said lift cable 26is twice the diameter of and, in the instance, is about 6 inches longerthan said opening cable 22 for reasons which will appear.

Said embodiment 8 is used for transporting articles, such as a stack ofmetal form pans P, from one location to another. Preferably the stack ofmetal form pans P is stacked on boards which hold the bottom of thestack off a supporting surface such as the ground so that the holdingshelves 16 can move beneath said stack of metal form pans P. Saidembodiment 8 is carried by an external lifting force, such as applied bya crane C or the like, the lifting hook H of which is engaged in theshackle 27. Said embodiment 8 while empty and with the lift arms 10spread apart is lifted over the metal form pans P to be carried and isthen lowered until the embodiment 8 rests upon the ground. The lift arms10 are spread apart by lifting upon the lift cable 26 while the openingcable 22 is engaged, i.e., the hook 24 is engaged with the respectiveloop member 18. The opening cable 22 is engaged prior to lifting uponthe lift cable 26. After the embodiment 8 rests upon the ground over thestack to be lifted the opening cable 22 is disengaged, i.e., the hook 24is disengaged from the respective loop member 18. The spring 20 holdsthe end of the opening cable carrying the hook 24 from falling too fartoward the ground. After the opening cable 22 is disengaged the crane Cis operated to apply a lifting force to the lift cable 26 via theshackle 27, whereupon the lift arms 10 swing together and the holdingshelves 16 move beneath the stack of metal form pans P on opposite sidesthereof and said stack is lifted in accordance with the lifting movementof the crane lifting cable L. Said embodiment 8 is constructed so thatwhen it is empty and a lifting force is applied thereto while saidopening cable 22 is disengaged the lower ends of the lift arms 10 swingtogether and are normally disposed apart a distance less than the leftto right or transverse width of the stack of metal form pans P. Afterthe crane C has transported the embodiment 8 while full to the newlocation desired for the stack of metal form pans P said embodiment 8while full is lowered to the ground with said stack preferably restingupon boards as mentioned. With said stack of metal form pans P restingupon the ground and with said lift cable 26 slackened, said openingcable 22 is engaged by hooking the hook 24 on the respective loop member18 and thereafter a lifting force is again applied to the lift cable 26,a part of which lifting force is applied via said shackle 19 to saidopening cable 22, whereupon the lift arms 10 swing apart and the holdingshelves 16 move away from said stack of metal form pans P and saidembodiment 8 while empty is then lifted off said stack of metal formpans P in accordance with the lifting movement of the crane liftingcable L. The reason the opening cable 22 is shorter than the lift cable26 is to insure that the former will spread the lift arms 10 apartsufficiently when a lifting force is applied thereto via the latter.

It will thus be seen that there has been provided by my invention anarticle handling system in which the object hereinabove set forth,together with many thoroughly practical advantages, has beensuccessfully achieved. For example, since the lift cable 26 does all ofthe lifting there need by only one heavy duty lift cable for the pair oflift arms 10. Also, during engagement and disengagement of the openingcable 22 the crane lifting cable L does not have to be disengaged fromthe lift cable 26 but only lowered sufficiently to slack the lift cable26 such that the opening cable 22 can be readily engaged. The cranelifting cable L never has to be disengaged from the lift cable 26 duringuse of said embodiment 8. While a preferred embodiment of my inventionhas been shown and described, it is to be understood that variations andchanges may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of myinvention as defined by the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an article handling system having article handling means forcarrying a stack of articles comprising a pair of lift arms, a rigidpivot rod pivotally joining said lift arms together, a lift cable and anopening cable operatively arranged such that: the lift arms are arrangedto swing inwardly toward each other to engage and carry said stack ofarticles upon application of an external lifting force to said liftcable, and the opening cable is constructed to have a lifting forceapplied thereto to swing the lift arms apart so that they clear thestack of articles, improvement in said article handling means comprisingeach said lift arm pivotally connected to said pivot rod at oppositeends thereof, said lift cable joined to said pivot rod at opposite endsthereof, said opening cable joined to said lift arms and disposed at asubstantially right angle in respect to said lift cable, one end of saidopening cable relatively permanently connected to one lift arm and theother end thereof manually connectable or dis-connectable in respect tothe other lift arm, two shackle means mutually interlocked and arrangedso that one has said external lifting force applied thereto and liftsthe other, said lift cable extending through one of said shackle means,said opening cable extending through the other of said shackle means,whereby when said opening cable is disconnected said lift cable is madetaut to lift said article handling means to carry said stack ofarticles, and whereby when said opening cable is connected it is madetaut to lift the empty article handling means to swing and spread saidlift arms apart.

2. in an article handling system having article handling means forcarrying flat bottomed pans comprising a pair of lift arms, a rigidpivot rod pivotally joining said arms together, a lift cable and anopening cable operatively arranged such that: the lift arms are arrangedto swing inwardly toward each other to engage and carry said pans uponapplication of an external lifting force to the lift cable, and theopening cable is constructed to have a lifting force applied thereto toswing the lift arms apart so that they clear the stack of articles,improvement in said article handling means comprising each said lift armpivotally connected to said pivot rod at opposite ends thereof, saidlift cable joined to said pivot rod at opposite ends thereof to liftsaid article handling means to carry said stack of articles, saidopening cable operatively connected to said lift arms to lift the emptyarticle handling means to swing and spread said lift arms apart, eachsaid lift arm having one right angled bottom frame member extendingaxially in the same direction as said pivot rod so that both said liftarms form two shelves which swing together to lift and squeeze upon thebottommost pans of said stack of pans, each said lift arm also havingtwo other right angled frame members axially spaced apart so that bothsaid lift arms form, in horizontal cross-section, four inwardly facingcorners which assist in confining the other pans above said bottommostpans within the confines of said lift arms.

1. In an article handling system having article handling means forcarrying a stack of articles comprising a pair of lift arms, a rigidpivot rod pivotally joining said lift arms together, a lift cable and anopening cable operatively arranged such that: the lift arms are arrangedto swing inwardly toward each other to engage and carry said stack ofarticles upon application of an external lifting force to said liftcable, and the opening cable is constructed to have a lifting forceapplied thereto to swing the lift arms apart so that they clear thestack of articles, improvement in said article handling means comprisingeach said lift arm pivotally connected to said pivot rod at oppositeends thereof, said lift cable joined to said pivot rod at opposite endsthereof, said opening cable joined to said lift arms and disposed at asubstantially right angle in respect to said lift cable, one end of saidopening cable relatively permanently connected to one lift arm and theother end thereof manually connectable or dis-connectable in respect tothe other lift arm, two shackle means mutually interlocked and arrangedso that one has said external lifting force applied thereto and liftsthe other, said lift cable extending through one of said shackle means,said opening cable extending through the other of said shackle means,whereby when said opening cable is disconnected said lift cable is madetaut to lift said article handling means to carry said stack ofarticles, and whereby when said opening cable is connected it is madetaut to lift the empty article handling means to swing and spread saidlift arms apart.
 2. In an article handling system having articlehandling means for carrying flat bottomed pans comprising a pair of liftarms, a rigid pivot rod pivotally joining said arms together, a liftcable and an opening cable operatively arranged such that: the lift armsare arranged to swing inwardly toward each other to engage and carrysaid pans upon application of an external lifting force to the liftcable, and the opening cable is constructed to have a lifting forceapplied thereto to swing the lift arms apart so that they clear thestack of articles, improvement in said article handling means comprisingeach said lift arm pivotally connected to said pivot rod at oppositeends thereof, said lift cable joined to said pivot rod at opposite endsthereof to lift said article handling means to carry said stack ofarticles, said opening cable operatively connected to said lift arms tolift the empty article handling means to swing and spread said lift armsapart, each said lift arm having one right angled bottom frame memberextending axially in the same direction as said pivot rod so that bothsaid lift arms form two shelves which swing together to lift and squeezeupon the bottommost pans of said stack of pans, each said lift arm alsohaving two other right angled frame members axially spaced apart so thatboth said lift arms form, in horizontal cross-section, four inwardlyfacing corners which assist in confining the other pans above saidbottommost pans within the confines of said lift arms.